Park Fun

As many of you know I coordinate a M*OPS group here, and I just have to say that our group has the best women EVER!! Shout out to all you M*OPS Mamas! We had a family picnic this past weekend and it was so much fun.

The kiddos especially liked the face painting by our creative friend Eraka! Ian cried when he had to wash it off - it was already half rubbed/sweated off by the time we got home. He had hopes of sportin' it to church!

Pretty as a flower!
She got a bug bite under her right eye, so it's a bit droopy.

Windows

We now have windows & a roof!!! Yeah!

My Bama Gama

I just returned from a road trip to Brmghm, AL with my sis and the kids to see the DeShazo clan. Thank you so much Aunti Hojo, Uncle GG and Tigger for tolerating us. I know we turn your world upside down and inside out when we are there. And, thank you Aunt Chrisi for taking a personal day to join us. You made the trip so much more enjoyable and helped me keep my sanity!

This is my Grandma Pat, aka Bama Gama,

Doesn't she look great for 82! ;)

Unfortunately, Grandma does not remember things like she used to, however, she did enjoy her time with the kids. Here she is helping Ava eat chocolate cake and ice cream off the same high chair my Daddy used. That's what I love about Grandma's house, you can always count on the same things being exactly where you left them last time you were there. In a world that's ever changing, Grandma's house remains preserved in time.

Moving On Up

Today was a very big day for our house! The old roof came off and the second floor is going up! Oh, and God didn't keep the rain away due to the All-Star game....it was in answer to the constant praying that we were doing to protect our home! And, thank you to everyone else that was praying for us! We were completely exposed!! God is good!

P.S. Keep the prayers coming for there is still rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

Fireworks Amongst Cousins

We had a great 4th of July with my family. We enjoyed a Min*ers minor league baseball game Friday night, followed by a great fireworks show. But, I must say that the best fireworks show was during Saturday night at Papa and Grandma's house.

And, it wasn't in the sky! It took place amongst the cousins who were

impatiently waiting on their Daddy's to get the show going.

Poor Aunt Chrisi got stuck in the middle of it!

Notice no one was coming to her rescue!

Ava, Ava, Ava Ann

"Ava, Ava, Ava Ann" is what I find myself saying a lot these days. I'm just completely blown away by how quickly my baby has grown and just how fiesty, resourceful, smart, adorable, ornery, active, nurturing, joyful and beautiful she is. Of course, with a description like that you know that I wrestle all day with wanting to eat her up one moment, to tie her up the next!

A few highlights of living with Ava right now are:

Pigtails



Ice Cream

Shopping

Hide-n-Seek
(Especially when she steals Ian's hiding spots - see how happy he is)



Dress-up

Cow Juice!
(Yes, that's what she calls it!)

Arts and Crafts during nap time



Play time



and Endless Silly Faces.

Innocent Nana

Yes, that is the Hungry, hun***, hippo game!
Yes, those are very tiny white marbles that look like candies.
Yes, I know my daughter is only 23 months and that if I'm going to allow her to play HHH game that I may as well have the mini-van warmed up and ready to leave for the hospital ASAP.
Ian is also aware of this fact! Which is why he talked his innocent Nana into getting out the game when his Mommy was not around to object!

Lucky for Ian, Ava survived the fun, and she actually beat him in several rounds!
Look at that smile! He knows what he did!

Ian's Tree View

We are adding an 18 ft. dormer to the back of our house, and Chad and Ian decided that a view from the tree will be the best place to experience the construction. They are keeping themselves busy building every night.

Here they are building the deck.

This will be an Ian only treehouse for awhile.

Ava is part squirrel, so we had to remove the ladder for now.

Ian gets up and down by straddling a post and climbing up on little pegs.

Ava and Daddy swinging on the disk swing.

Welcome

Welcome to the Stuemke Family Blog! I have greatly enjoyed keeping up with my friends' blogs for so long that I have finally decided that it is time to create my own. I'm not sure that I'll be near as insightful, humorous or encouraging as they all are, however, I hope that it will be a great way for me to document all the adorable things my children do daily, while keeping my family up to date.

This picture pretty much sums up our life at the moment. Ian is 6 and Ava is 23 months. They are pretty much inseparable for Ava is hard to shake. She insists on doing everything, and I must emphasize "everything" that her big brother does. Ian is pretty tolerant, but just like me, he LOVES Ava's nap time.

This picture also tells a story. We are in the midst of renovating our attic into a master suite. Yes, I know you are probably thinking, "why is there a massive dirt pile when they are renovating an attic?" Well, that would be because you must reinforce the bottom before you can add to the top. Needless to say, this reno is all consuming, and you will hear a lot about it for we are living with the joys of it daily!

Tune in for more. I'm sure I'll have a lot to say in the next couple of days.